In May of 2020, the Navajo Nation reported one of the highest per-capita COVID-19 infection rates in the United States. But even the dire official numbers didn’t tell the full story. The Native American Journalists Association’s Indigenous Investigative Collective brought together three newsrooms to launch a public records campaign to dig into how a mix of varying access rules and bureaucratic intransigence have made it impossible to get a complete picture of the pandemic, hampering efforts at accountability and relief.
Come hear the story behind the reporting as members of the cross-newsroom Indigenous Investigative Collective share how they used public records to dig into the poor data keeping that hid the impact of COVID-19 on the Navajo Nation. The IIC, a project of the Native American Journalists Association, brought together High Country News, Indian Country Today, and Searchlight New Mexico on the investigation in partnership with MuckRock and with the support of JSK-Big Local News.
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